A woman says she is facing bankruptcy after
losing just under £113,000 to a scammer she met
on a dating site.
Rachel Elwell, from the West Midlands, said the
man, who claimed he lived nearby, told her he had
gone abroad for an engineering contract in Ukraine.
He convinced her with documents and pictures he
needed money for issues that had cropped up and
stated he had been taken captive by loan sharks.
Ms Elwell, 50, said there was no guarantee of any
money coming back.
Asked why she had given money to a man she had
never met, the export manager, of Brownhills, said:
"When he said to me his life was in danger and I
didn't hear from him, I thought he'd been murdered.
"Can you imagine feeling you're responsible for
whether someone lives or dies?"
Ms Elwell said after he had contacted her on 1
January claiming to live in Cannock, his "picture
looked nice", he "seemed to like the same things
as me" and "seemed quite an open and genuine
guy".
'All a lie'
The man told her they would have to wait weeks to
meet as he would need to stay in Ukraine, but later
phoned claiming laws in that country had changed
due to Covid and he now had to pay tax before any
of the engineering work began, Ms Elwell said.
Telling the story to BBC Radio WM , Ms Elwell said
she had been told work had stopped on site and
matters "appeared very legitimate", but later she
had "reluctantly" sent him money.
She stated at one point a supposed tax office had
sent a letter to him, which she had a copy of, and
added: "They said... 'you need to pay 160
thousand'. So he cashed his pension in, sold his
car, borrowed money and I helped him.
"I mean at this point I think it was about £45k I'd
sent him to help him with the tax bill."
What is romance fraud?
Action Fraud advises people who believe they
have been a victim to contact their bank
According to Action Fraud, romance or dating fraud
is where criminals dupe people into sending them
money by gaining their trust and convincing them
they are in a genuine relationship.
In order to stay safe from such scams, it advises
people to:
•Be suspicious of any requests for money from
someone they have never met in person,
particularly if they have only recently met online
•Speak to family or friends to get advice
•Perform reverse image searches on profile
pictures, as they may not be genuine. A reverse
image search can find photos that have been
taken from somewhere else
Anyone who believes they have been a victim of
romance fraud, it said, should report it to their bank
immediately and to Action Fraud.
Continuing the story, Ms Elwell said the man had
claimed two "heavies" had turned up and he had
been locked in a cellar. He sent her pictures
purporting to show him there.
She added he claimed to have been released after
money had been sent, but he had told her he would
not have his passport, which had been taken from
him, until interest had been paid.
On the day the man told Ms Elwell he was due to
fly back, 16 March, she went to Heathrow airport
and got an email from supposed airport officials
saying he had been arrested.
She said she had then approached Border Force
officials who said, "look, it's a scam".
She went to his supposed house in Coventry to
meet his daughter and housekeeper/nanny, but "no
such people lived at that house".
Ms Elwell said: "It was in that moment that I knew
it was all a lie."
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said:
"Rachel's case is a prime example of romance
fraud, her case highlights how much these
scammers affect people's lives."
[url]https://www.bbc.co.uk%20/news/uk-england-birmingham-%2056984844[/url]

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